Harry Potter and The Love That Never Was 1
by Ravenpuffer
Summary: Harry Potter has just turned 14, but why would anyone care? His younger brother, the BWL, is coming to Hogwarts!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N This fic is inspired by Harry and the Veela by Z-bond and Harry Potter, Rise from Dust by Bluezz-17. The pairing will be revealed slowly, then I'll include it in the summary. Feel free to skim this chapter, I'm sure you've heard most of it before. **

Disclaimer: Anything recognisable isn't mine, though I do own a few original characters like Atlas, Morgana and Lucille.

_**HP and TLTNW, Year 1, Chapter 1: The Boy Who Lived **_

It was a seemingly quiet night in October, the 31st to be exact. A few children were running around in costumes begging for sweets but otherwise, the road on which Godric's Hollow was located lay perfectly still, peaceful even. Not many were aware of the cottage's existence, if they did they thought it had been deserted years ago. There was a reason for this. James Potter, his wife Lily and their two small children were in hiding. Now, this family wasn't your average family, they were magical. They were hiding not from a normal criminal but a dark lord who could bring death and suffering by uttering two words.

James and Lily Potter had been fighting the dark lord ever since they had left the haven of school, they were prominent figures amongst the light. They had defied the dark lord on many occasions but this was not the reason they were hiding. There was a prophecy known by few and feared by those that did. The Potter's sons, Harry and Oliver, along with the son of two other infamous enemies of the dark lord, could be the subject of the prophecy that stated that a child born at the end of July would vanquish the terror of the dark lord. With Harry and Oliver both being born at the end of July, Lily and James were naturally worried for their darling boys' wellbeing.

James had just returned from a successful raid on a death eater's residence and was cuddled up to Lily on the sofa. Suddenly James felt the wards of the house being breached, he jumped up, surprising Lily, and drew his wand, "It's him," he whispered, his face ashen. He gave his wife a hug and told her to get the boys to safety. When a distraught Lily had dashed up the stairs, James stood, determined, at the foot of them, wand drawn, ready to fight.

The door crashed open, revealing a hooded figure. The hooded figure was Voldemort, the dark lord whom everyone feared. He laughed at James' attempt, "Foolish boy, as endearing as I find your pitiful attempt, you will die tonight. First I must find that wretched son of yours, _Petrificus Totalus!_" James' body stiffened as he fell to the ground.

Lily Potter had been horrified to discover that there was no floo powder left in her babies' bedroom, she glanced at her sleeping boys and sighed, she'd have to fight him off. Just then the door burst open and she found herself face to face with Voldemort, "Ah, as stupid as your husband eh? I'll deal with you later, the quicker that boy is dealt with the better!" Voldemort's _Stupefy_ easily devoured Lily's _Protego_, the woman fell to the ground, leaving her children to their fate.

Voldemort turned to the two cribs presented in front of him, one was labelled _Harry James_ and the other _Oliver Sirius_. A small black haired boy, no older than 3, hauled a younger boy over the barrier that separated their beds, as if to say, "Nobody hurts my little brother!" the smaller boy had a mop of dark auburn hair that stuck up in all directions. The powerful wizard made his choice, extended his wand and paused to stare into the pools of green that seemed so unafraid of death, he had to admit, the boy's determination was admirable. After shaking of the single drop of sentimentality that had wormed its way into his mind, Voldemort cried, "_Avada Kedavra_!" a bright green light filled the room, it began to shake from the sheer power of the spell. Harry held his palms out, as if this could save him from the force of the magic. Voldemort suddenly felt intense pain, like his body was being shredded into a million pieces. There was a loud thud and he disappeared from the room. Chunks of wood that held the roof up fell down, showering the boys, one, still full of magic from the spell, left a gash on Oliver's cheek in the shape of a 'V'. Harry collapsed from magic exhaustion, a blanket falling over the small lightning scar on his right hand.

Sirius Black was on the way to visit the Potters, James had been his friend since they started Hogwarts, the school for young witches and wizards living in Britain. He stopped in his tracks when he reached the gate. Or what had been the gate. There was wood and glass strewn over the small garden, the door was non-existent and Sirius thought he could smell smoke. He found James lying petrified on the floor, he stepped over his best friend and rushed up the stairs. Lily, wonderful Lily, was lying motionless on the floor of the nursery. Sirius bit back the tears as he made his way to where the boys should be. He picked up Oliver first, as he was bawling rather loudly and examined him. His mouth fell open in shock as he saw the blood trickling down his godson's cheek, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a pouch of floo powder, deciding to fire-call Albus Dumbledore.

Harry was still asleep when the elderly wizard arrived. Albus revived the Potter couple and marvelled over the fact that Oliver's scar was full of magic. He examined the older boy and found that his magic reserves were very low. He came to the logical conclusion that Oliver, a baby, had killed a very powerful dark wizard. That night, Oliver Sirius Potter became the boy who lived.

**A/N Thanks for reading! The reason that Sirius is Oliver's godfather not Harry's will become apparent soon enough. Sorry if this chapter seems rushed, it's more of a quick introduction to Harry's situation than a proper chapter. I think each chapter will be 3,000+ words.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N enjoy this! By the way, this isn't a fic where James and Lily just suddenly realize what they've done.**

_**HP and TLTNW, Year 1, Chapter 2: The Boy Who Was Forgotten**_

**25****th**** July 1991**

Harry Potter was awoken by rays of sunshine streaming through the sole window of the east wing attic. He had retreated to this room, far away from his family, after he was removed from his old bedroom. He had had a nicely sized room with a window that faced the garden, giving him a spectacular view of the extensive Potter estate. His parents had decided that his younger brother needed it more, telling him to find a room that matched his status. As a 5 year old he had run far away from them and settled into the attic he found himself waking in. He climbed out of the small single-bed, put on black jeans, a white shirt, navy blue tie and black waistcoat, locked the door and padded down the stairs to the small bathroom that he was permitted to use. He stared at himself in the mirror, thanked merlin that he didn't need those hideous glasses that his father and brother wore and reached for some hair gel. He had realised some time ago that his hair wouldn't stay still naturally, so he had gotten into the habit of combing it then slightly spiking it up. Remus, his godfather, had said it looked good, he hadn't seen Remus in years, not since _it_ happened. He tiptoed downstairs to make breakfast, it wouldn't do to wake his dear brother. His mother had never approved of house elves, always making breakfast for the family herself. Harry hadn't been part of that family since October 1981.

He hummed as the bacon sizzled in the hot oil, tapping his finger to wandlessly flip them. He enjoyed cooking, even when he did it the muggle way. He groaned slightly as he heard his mother's soft footsteps approaching, turning off the gas, he disappeared into a secret hallway next to the kitchen to eat his meal in peace.

"Open it! Open it! Open it!" Harry sighed as his childish 'uncle' chanted, willing Oliver to open a letter sealed with the Hogwarts crest.

"Oh, leave it Sirius! Open it in your own time Prongslet," Harry cringed at the nickname, remembering that he had once been called it.

"Dear Mr Potter, I am delighted to inform you that…" Harry cast an invisibility charm on himself as he slipped back into the kitchen to wash his plate the old fashioned way. In the kitchen, huddled round the table sat James, Sirius and Oliver, all fussing over the letter. Harry rolled his eyes as his father proclaimed that they would go on a trip to Diagon Alley to celebrate. Harry turned to leave, he knew he wasn't invited.

**27****th**** July 1988**

_Young Harry ran excitedly to the kitchen to tell his parents about his letter, he had a letter! He stopped in his tracks when he heard the commotion coming from his destination. His brother had just received a brand new broom, a Nimbus 1900, the latest model in the legendary broom making company's racing line. Harry longed to have a broom just like his brother's but his father had told him that Quidditch was Oliver's sport and that he was useless at it anyway. Sirius, wearing his auror's Specialus Sensous amulet, realised that Harry was there and pulled him out of the corridor, "Found this loitering outside," Harry had looked at his father's friend with a hurt expression on his face. Oliver snatched the letter from Harry, tore it open, and began to read, "THAT'S NOT FAIR! How come he gets to go to Hogwarts? He's not special!" Oliver's eyes watered and he was soon sobbing uncontrollably. James turned to his older son, "Now look what you've done! Hurting your brother like that is very mean," he grabbed the boy's t-shirt and forced him up the stairs, "Colloportus," he muttered through gritted teeth, locking his son in his room__**.**_

**1****st**** September 1991**

Platform 9 ¾ was almost unbearably busy as usual. It was made even more crowded because of Oliver's presence. The press were there, taking endless photographs and asking seemingly endless questions. James and Lily posed with their younger son while Harry wandered off to find his friends.

"Potter!" a voice called behind him.

"Malfoy! Lady Malfoy, Lord Malfoy," Harry bowed politely as he addressed his friend's parents.

"Now, now Harry what did I say about you calling Lucius and I by our first names" Narcissa Malfoy was a tall woman with platinum blond hair, grey eyes and a kind smile.

"Sorry La-Narcissa," Harry ducked his head sheepishly

"Don't worry dear! Now remember, it's Drakey's first year," a small boy with hair smoothed back ridiculously with hair gel stepped out from behind his mother, scowling at the nickname, "and I expect you two to look after him, ok?" Atlas nodded, ruffling his younger brother's hair. Harry had known the Malfoys since he had met them in Diagon Alley on his 10th birthday. Atlas, with his dirty blond curls and Draco with his blue-grey eyes were like the brothers he never had.

"Harry! My boy, how much you've grown!" Harry found himself being greeted by yet another family, the Greengrass clan. He turned to hug Lady Greengrass, who, like Narcissa, insisted that he called her Maria. Lady Greengrass had chocolate brown hair and startling green eyes, her daughters both took after her in the looks department He smiled a genuine smile as he was drawn into a hug by Daphne, one of his closest friends. His smile grew into a slight frown when he remembered that his own family had forgotten about him completely. Daphne noticed this and squeezed his hand in a bid to comfort him.

Atlas flung his arm around Harry's shoulder and began to make his way to the familiar scarlet loco-motor. Draco quickly found Theodore Knott, the only one of his father's friends' children he could stand, Crabbe and Goyle were simply too moronic. They settled into their usual compartment and were joined by Morgana Zabini and Lucille Archer. Morgana Zabini usually had spiky magenta hair and warm brown eyes, she was a metamorphagus. Lucille had fiery red hair and eyes as blue as the sky. They were an odd bunch, the Ravenclaws, the Slytherin, the Gryffindor and the Hufflepuff all sitting together and laughing. Lucy chattered happily, Morgana and Atlas played chess, Daphne made sarcastic remarks about Lucy's chattering and Harry was just happy that he was surrounded by people who cared about him.

There was knocking on the compartment door, Harry tapped his wand and two young boys tumbled in. Oliver hastily dusted himself off, trying to look dignified. Ronald Weasley attempted to do this as well, he wasn't very successful in his endeavour. Harry stood up from his seat, "Did you want something?"

"You are sitting in my compartment," Oliver stated, as if it was obvious

"Really? As far as I'm aware, there are no reserved compartments," Daphne replied

"You should know better than to defy me, I am the boy-who-lived!" Oliver lifted his chin up a fraction,

"Brat-who-lived more like," Atlas muttered, he was, unfortunately, heard by Oliver who turned bright red. He raised his wand to hex the blond boy, Ron did the same. In a flash, Harry had advanced on Oliver, pushed him up against the compartment wall, pressed his wand against his throat and snarled, "Nobody, I repeat, nobody, hurts my friends? Got that, brat?" Oliver slowly backed away, his large form scampering from the compartment.

Harry sat down, found a spot on the horizon and stared at it for the rest of the journey. His friends shot each other worried looks, Harry had been having what they called a 'good' day. It had been one of those days where he looked more carefree and he let smiles slip out once in a while.

4 long hours later they departed the train and hauled themselves into a carriage together. It was a silent journey but they knew that talking wasn't what Harry needed at that moment. They sat at their respective tables, even the headmaster insisted that they do this for the welcoming feast. Harry lay his head on the table, ignoring the sorting hat's song, the headmaster's speech and the first half of the sorting itself.

**1****st**** September 1988**

"_Harry … Potter?"_

_Harry walked up to the hat nervously, all eyes were on him. Nobody knew that Oliver Potter had a brother, no one knew that he'd be here this year. McGonagall smiled at him in a kind but confused way, when had the Potters had a second child? He sat on the wobbly stool, closed his eyes tightly. An old voice entered his head, "Ah, what have we here? The first Potter child?"_

"_Yes?"_

"_You are powerful, yes, very powerful indeed! Where should I put you? You're a tricky one that's for sure!"_

"_Um…I don't know, isn't it your job to put me somewhere?"_

"_Yes, young one, but you are difficult to place. You are brave but you lack a Gryffindor's rashness, you are cunning but you wouldn't fit Slytherin, Hufflepuff would serve you well, you are loyal..ah I sense that you would be uncomfortable with the kindness Helga's house would show you. That leaves...Ravenclaw… mm…yes"_

"_I'd like to be somewhere that I can learn,"_

"_Ravenclaw, Ravenclaw…better be RAVENCLAW!"_

_Harry hopped off of the stool and forced the hat into McGonagall's hands, he was the first Potter in centuries to not be sorted into Gryffindor. He sat down by a boy who had been sorted a few minutes before him, "Don't worry, Harry, I'm not supposed to be here either," his blue eyes danced with mirth as he gestured to the glares he was getting from the Slytherins. Harry smiled softly, happy that he at least had one friend. _

Atlas kicked his shin under the table, his brother had been called up. The hat rested on his copper hair, the brim touching the wire frame of his glasses. His face was screwed up in what looked like anger. After 2 minutes the hat's mouth started to form a 'H', Oliver yanked the brim and the hat reluctantly called out, "Gryffindor," Oliver was met by raucous cheers, whoops and chants of, "Potter, Potter, we got Potter!" Draco Malfoy was Slytherin, as was Morgana's brother Blaise, Ron was a Gryffindor and Bethany, Lucille's sister, was a Hufflepuff. All in all it was a quiet meal, Harry received a few confused looks from Oliver, who presumably thought Harry was also in Gryffindor.

Harry answered the simple riddle that the eagle provided him, walked through the common room, ignoring the girly giggles from Cho and Marietta as he passed them and entered his room. Harry had his own room simply because he often had terrible nightmares that had frequently woken up his dorm-mates. There was a bookshelf filled with muggle and magical texts, a desk piled high with sketchbooks, mathematical theorems and various stationary supplies. He had attended a muggle school, unlike his brother, and had taken advanced maths, English and chemistry classes at the local secondary school in his last year at primary. He thought that quills were impractical and therefore took notes in biro or a fountain pen.

He also played the guitar, though none of his friends knew of this, and he considered the instrument a hobby, nothing more, after all, it wouldn't help him when the dark lord returned. He, unlike others, didn't believe that a baby could completely destroy the evil being, he simply couldn't believe that the lord didn't have plans in place to give him some degree of immortality.

The next morning, Harry woke at his usual time of 5am to jog round the lake and then get back in time for a few laps round the quidditch pitch with Atlas. He had been Ravenclaw's chaser since second year. He initially wanted to be seeker but Cho Chang was just too good at it for him to steal her title. He loved flying, he loved how the wind made his hair fly wildly behind him and how it made him feel like a bird. He donned the blue and bronze robes, they were tight to make the players streamlined. Girls on the team often giggled at him when he flew past, but Harry had no time for relationships.

He ran his hand through his hair in despair as he remembered that his father would be teaching flying this year, thankfully he no longer took the class but James would be refereeing every quidditch match. His father sat at the staff table at breakfast, talking with Dumbledore in a secretive manner, _Order business_. Harry had known about the order since he was young, his parents had no idea how loud they shouted about it during their heated post-dinner discussions. Harry smirked to himself when he remembered that Oliver, the Brat-who-Lived, had no idea about the secret organization.

His first class was DADA, he had heard that Professor Quirrel had returned from his travels to teach the subject. He, Atlas and Daphne arrived just before the lesson began, sat at the back of the classroom and observed their new teacher. Well, Harry observed, Daphne flipped through the textbook and Atlas played with a model snitch designed to only fly 1m away from the owner. Harry noticed that something was off with the Professor, firstly, since when had the Professor worn a turban? Secondly, he had a stutter, he had messed up their names when greeting them. Harry had been one of his favourite pupils before, now he could hardly pronounce his name?

**12****th**** September 1991**

"Harry, did you hear about your bro-Oliver?" Lucy nudged him awake, stuttering as she remembered that Harry didn't associate Oliver with himself, they were sat in History of Magic, which was boring as ever.

"What? Did he learn to read or something?" Harry mumbled in complete seriousness, Atlas chuckled quietly from the row behind them.

"No, he's the new Gryffindor seeker,"

"You've got to be kidding me? He couldn't fly a broom to save his life!" Harry turned to her, his eyebrows furrowed in thought, "Unless dear father paid to get him on the team, it figures. He's also replaced Madam Hooch, you know," Harry returned to taking notes from the textbook, there was little point listening to their ghost of a teacher.

After the class had ended, Harry went to visit Professor McGonagall to talk about how the little oaf had gotten on the team. He rapped on the door of her office and was told to enter, "Ah, Mr Potter! Is there something I can help you with?"

"Yes, there is. Do you mind if we sit down to discuss this?" McGonagall frowned slightly but offered her brightest pupil a seat opposite her desk.

"Now, what was it you wanted?" she asked

"I was just wondering, how exactly did Oliver get on the quidditch team?" the Professor shifted in her chair uncomfortably, "You know what I mean Professor, you've visited the Potter's house many times to watch their son play?" her expression grew worried when she heard this, his wording wasn't exactly comforting to a lady who believed that family was everything, "Mr Potter, James if you will, is the new quidditch referee and flying professor, is he not?"

"Professor Potter may be a bit biased towards Oliver, but he is the Boy-Who-Lived, he deserves it,"

"If that is your opinion Professor, then I shall respect it as best I can. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got lessons to go to.

**A/N thanks for reading! I don't know if I'll continue Just Harry, this one will definitely cover the whole of 1****st**** year.**


	3. Chapter 3

_**HP and TLTNW, Year 1, Chapter 3: The Dog With Three Heads**_

**12 September 1991**

Harry was still thinking about how his brother had become seeker at dinner. It had taken Daphne, Atlas and Lucy 10 minutes to snap him out of his dream land and get him to eat something. Harry's head snapped up when he saw a familiar blond making his way over to the Ravenclaw table. A very smug looking Draco swaggered up to his brother, whispered something in his ear whilst grinning wickedly and sauntered off again. Harry shot Atlas a questioning look, Atlas simply clicked his fingers twice. This was the signal for 'meet in your room later', Harry answered with a tap of his wand on his thigh. This was a sign for 'bring the girls'.

Harry was sat on his bed, reading _Great Expectations _and waiting for his friends to appear. Daphne, Morgana, Lucille and Atlas appeared at around 8pm, cautiously entering their friend's sanctuary. Harry's room was devoid of anything related to his family, the spot on his side table where most would keep a photo of their parents or siblings was filled by a magical photograph of the five, sprawled under the great oak tree by the lake halfway through second year. His desk was not filled with opened letters from his beloved father or mother, it was filled with essays and books. The shelves weren't filled with trinkets he had acquired on family holidays, they were full of framed sketches of his friends. The only thing that vaguely linked Harry to his family was an old broom that Harry had had since 1st year. He had no memory of who had given it to him but he knew that it was from his house, from a time when he'd called his house his home. It was a battered old Cleansweep model, well-worn and loved. It wasn't the fastest broom in the world but Harry was no ordinary flyer.

"So, At, what did you want to tell us about?" Harry enquired after he had carefully placed the book on his side-table.

"Well, you'll never guess what Drake's gone and done," the four looked at him expectantly, "He's challenged _Oliver_ to a duel,"

"A duel?" Daphne snorted, "That's too Gryffindor for little Snaco," Morgana agreed silently, nodding.

"Exactly, he's not going to go," Atlas continued, "Or, he _wouldn't_ go. But he knows you, Harry. He's _heard_," Harry nodded as if this explained everything. Daphne knew what Atlas meant, Morgana and Lucille knew not to question it.

"We've got to stop the little idiot," Lucille piped up

"Luce, we can't just go storming in. Filch will kill us!" Morgana pointed out

"Ok, here's the plan…" Harry began after a moment's thought.

**The third floor corridor, midnight.**

Harry, flanked by his friends, walked silently down the corridor displaying a perfect example of house unity. Professor McGonagall, the teacher who regularly congratulated them on their solidarity, would not be impressed by the circumstance their friendship had landed them in. Oops.

As expected, they found the youngest Malfoy with his wand drawn against Oliver and his goon, Ron. Harry whispered, "Accio Draco, Oliver and Ronald's wands," under his breath. 3 wands flew away from their shocked owners and were soon stashed in Harry's pocket. He pulled down the hood of his cloak and glared at the boys, "Drake, Potter, Weasley," Oliver seemed slightly perturbed by Harry's formal greeting but continued staring daggers into the 1st year Slytherin's heart, "I am disappointed in you, Drake. Behaving in such a rash way, I might've mistaken you for a Gryffindor. I, promised your father something, a few years ago. I _never_ break my promises" Draco shuddered.

"S-s-sorry H-h-harry," Draco stuttered as he saw his brother appear from behind Harry.

"Its ok, little snake. Just don't act like an imbecile for the next year ok?" Atlas smiled fondly at his brother, half annoyed and half proud that his brother had stood up against Oliver. Harry placed Draco's wand in the boy's had, squeezed his shoulder and called out, "Dobby?" a soft pop sounded and a small form appeared in front of them. Harry smiled at the elf, "Dobby, can you make sure that Drake gets to his common room?" Dobby nodded, bowed, held onto Draco's robe and away they popped.

Harry turned to the two boys that were still stood there, rooted to the spot. Oliver lifted his chin up, stepped forward, "I could've sorted it out by myself, you know. I don't need my big brother stepping in every time that slimy Slytherin git decides to undermine me," he said with an air of arrogance. Harry's eyes darkened, he gripped Oliver's shoulders and clearly stated, "_Drake_ is more of a brother to me than you are, have been and will ever be,"

**31****st**** July 1987**

_Harry sighed sorrowfully as he kicked a stray rock down the cobbled road. He should be the one in Fortesque's, happily eating a scoop of honeycomb ice-cream and being treated like their son by his parents. He shrugged this thought off, they weren't really his parents anymore. He fingered the few galleons in his pocket. He'd done some small jobs around the alley, helping Ollivander stack wands, sewing school crests for Madam Malkin, preparing flobberworms for sale in the Apothecary and polishing snitches in the Qudditch supply shop. He planned on getting a few books to read in his attic whilst Oliver's party was held._

_He greeted the shop's owner quietly, disappearing into the depths of the shop. He brushed his fingers along the spines of books as he walked past. 'Musical fingers' somebody had told him in a kind voice, Harry couldn't remember for the life of him who had said it. He rounded the corner and wandered down the aisle that was dedicated to quidditch, a sport he loved. He'd only ever actually played the sport about 3 times, his mother had only deemed him old enough a few weeks before the night he was forgotten. The older Weasleys had attempted to get him to join their matches with their siblings but James wouldn't let him, saying that he'd only ruin the game. _

_At the end of the aisle sat a boy with platinum blond hair, clutching a ball. He appeared to be sulking. Harry crouched down in front of the boy. 'A genius with kids' the kind voice in his head whispered again. The boy's blue-grey eyes met his own, full of childish anger. Harry prised the ball from the boy's pale fingers, "What's up?" he asked, making the ball hover over his palm by whispering 'Leviosa' under his breath._

_The boy's mouth twitched into a smile but frowned again when he remembered why he was grumpy, "Mummy says that I'm not old enough for a snitch. She says it's dangerous, Attie says she's speaking nonnysense. What's n-o-n-n-y-s-e-n-s-e?" Harry smiled softly, clicking his fingers and turning the small ball into a brilliant golden snitch._

"_That. Was. Ruddy. Fantastic!" Harry turned to see a boy casually leaning against the bookshelf, "Honestly, without a wand and everything! How'd you do it?" his curls bounced as he chattered excitedly, his eyes seemed to smile. _

"_Practice!" Harry had read about transfiguration in a book he had found buried in the attic._

"_Well I certainly need to start practicing, don't I? I'm Malfoy, Atlas Malfoy and that's my brother Draco. I can't thank you enough, that'll keep him busy for hours," the boy grinned_

"_It's charmed not to fly more than 1m away from him,"_

"_Wicked! You'll have to make me one soon,"_

"_I'm Harry by the way, Harry Potter," to Harry's surprise, Atlas didn't seem too bothered by his name_

"_Nice to meet you Harry! Where are your parents?"_

"_Mr and Mrs Potter are currently at Fortescue's ice-cream parlour with our saviour, please present identification on arrival," Harry tiredly reeled off the official statement he had to give to anyone enquiring about his parent's location. Atlas raised an eyebrow,_

"_Come with us, Mum and Father are waiting by Gringotts for me and Drakey," he gestured for Harry to lead the way out of the shop. _

_Lady Narcissa and Lord Lucius Malfoy saw their sons walking out of the book shop, another boy in tow. Narcissa smiled, Atlas was the type of boy who could make anyone comfortable. She was introduced to the small boy, Harry Potter. She hadn't been aware of a second Potter son but smiled politely at him. Lucius smiled broadly and reached out to shake the boy's hand, to his surprise the boy recoiled sharply, hands flying to his head to protect himself. _

"_Harry?" Atlas placed a hand on the tense shoulders of Harry._

"_Harry I didn't wish to hurt you, I was merely shaking your hand," Lucius explained carefully, horrified at the thought of hurting a child. After he had been placed under the imperious curse by Voldemort and forced to kill, sent to Azkaban and tortured until they realised he was telling the truth, he had promised that he'd never hurt a soul. _

_Harry slowly removed his shaking hands from his raven head and looked up at the concerned faces of the Malfoy family. Draco stepped out from his hiding place in his mother's dress, smiled and hugged Harry's leg like his life depended on it._

He pushed Oliver away from him and glared at Ron in disgust, "As for you, Weasley, you'd better clean up your act before Bill or Charlie find out what a cretin you've been,"

Charlie had been very kind to the closed off mess Harry had been when he had arrived at Hogwarts, he and his brother had guided the boy before he established a group of friends he could trust. Harry still wrote to the pair, had visited Charlie at his reserve with Atlas in 3rd year and received Advanced Ancient Rune lessons from Bill. He was disappointed that their youngest brother had latched on to Oliver when they had first met at a press conference when Oliver was 4. The boy turned beet red, he knew that his brothers loved Harry like a brother and would kill him if they found out that he'd messed with the Ravenclaw.

Daphne gave the younger boys a glare that could set fire to ice and the two Gryffindors scampered off, leaving Harry and the other four in peace. Harry raked his long fingers through his hair, sighing. Daphne nudged him as she saw a familiar cat round the corner, _Filch_. The whole group was soon aware of the feline and they ran down the corridor until they reach a door. Harry twisted the handle, finding that it was locked, he muttered, "_Alohomora,_" and the door sprang open.

"Holy shit, Harry, holy frigging shit," Atlas whispered as his eyes met the eyes of the canine in front of them, "Harry, that's a giant dog. A giant dog with three heads. Harry, that's a giant dog with three heads that's wide awake. That's a giant dog with three heads that's wide awake and looks just a bit irritated. Harry, I'm not being vain or anything but I think we look pretty tasty to the giant dog with three heads that's wide awake and looks angry,"

"Umm… yeah. Shit. Um, Harry, ideas?" Morgana looked anxiously at her green eyed friend

"How about doing something instead on standing here like sitting ducks?" Daphne cut in

"Cerberus…" Harry muttered, "Cerberus, Cerberus…"

"Harry, dear, as much as we love your muttering, it would be nice if you had some ideas before we're killed," Atlas shouted, his dagger drawn.

**27 August 1989, Malfoy Manor**

_Harry had escaped the Potter residence for a day to visit the Malfoys. He and Atlas were stood in front of Lucius' desk, backs straight, hands clasped behind their straight backs. Lucius unlaced his hands and reached into a drawer, "Boys, now you are 12 it is my obligation to give you some very special items. Atlas Orion, you are my eldest son and Harry James," Lucius said Harry's middle name with a hint of disgust, "you are like one of my own," He lifted up two necklaces, a snake with green eyes and a snake with blue eyes. The eyes seemed to match the boys' perfectly. "These are necklaces of protection, forged by goblins. Each member of the Malfoy family receives one sometime after their 12__th__ birthday," Atlas stroked the contours of the small metal animal in fascination. _

"_Sir, I can't thank you enough for your kindness, but I really can't accept this," Harry said quietly_

"_Nonsense! Please, take it. I wish for nothing more but your safety," Lucius smiled warmly, placing the second items on the ornate desk. Two daggers with jewels in the hilts that matched the eyes of the snakes, "You will need these, the wizarding world is not the safe haven it once was. These daggers can harm a being more than a stunner ever could, I am trusting you with these," in a flash Harry had drawn the Malfoy patriarch into a hug, _

"_I'll protect them no matter what, Atlas and Drake will never come to harm, not if I can help it," he whispered into Lucius' cloak. The hug meant a lot to Lucius, it took a lot for Harry to initiate contact with others._

"Stop! No daggers!" Harry shouted, silencing the dog's howls, "Music, that's how you calm a Cerberus!" he conjured a music box and opened it, causing _For Elise _to fill the air, lulling to canine into a peaceful sleep. The four sighed gratefully at Harry and made their way to the door.

"We'll come back soon," Harry declared, "for now, I'll lock the door. _Colloportas_," Harry muttered his modification of the locking spell that meant that he was the only one who could unlock the door, even _alohomora_ didn't work.

**A/N I know my dates before Oliver's first year are a bit iffy. Just to clarify, here are some key dates:**

**-1955 James Potter is born (all parents' birthdays have been pushed back 5 years to accommodate Harry's birth**

**-1977 Harry is born**

**-1980 Oliver is born (Harry is 3)**

**-1981 Voldemort attacks (Oliver =1 and Harry =4)**

**-1987 Harry meets the Malfoys **

**-1988 Harry begins Hogwarts (Oliver = 8 and Harry = 11)**

**-1991 Oliver begins Hogwarts (Harry is 14)**

**I will go back and rectify these **

**Also, Draco actually turning up to the duel is a result of hearing endless stories about how Oliver treats Harry, who is basically part of his family. **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N Enjoy this chap, I'm sorry its short :)**

_**HP and TLTNW, Year 1, Chapter 4: The Trio in Trouble**_

Harry hated Halloween with a passion, it was the day that changed everything. He lay on the side of the lake, letting the rain overwhelm him, letting the fierce wind make his hair fly around wildly. His broom lay beside him, but he wasn't in the mood for flying. He just lay there on the bitterly cold, sopping wet grass. He was crying, salty droplets escaping from under closed lids, the tears merging with raindrops as they rolled down his face.

Atlas, Lucy and Morgana were waiting for Daphne on the bridge between the castle and Hogsmeade. She was at lunchtime quidditch practice, Lucille had also just returned from a friendly match between the Hufflepuff Badgers and the Hufflepuff Hedghogs, the reserve team. They knew they wouldn't see Harry, their teachers were well aware that their star pupil would not be making an appearance. Morgana was messing around with her eyes, changing from snake to owl to hawk. With her hawk eyes she could see far into the distance, she could see water droplets hitting the lake and the figure lying by the lake. The figure _lying_ by the lake! Morgana sharply inhaled, turning to Atlas, "At, Harry's by the lake,"

Atlas looked at her in a 'so what?' fashion, his eyes widened when he realised what she was insinuating, "Bloody hell! We've got to get to him!"

"Damn right we have to. Atlas, take my broom. You and Morgana fly down there and I'll join you when Daph gets here,"

"Thanks Luce," Atlas swept down to pick up the Nimbus and kissed Lucy lightly on the cheek, causing her to blush profusely. He mounted the broom, made room for Morgan and kicked off from the ground. They were soon flying very fast, the wind whipping their now wet hair.

"What was that about?" Morgana asked him, referring to the gesture towards Lucy

"Honestly, Ana, do you think this is the time to be questioning my love life?" he shouted over the roaring wind, knowing exactly what she was talking about. They landed on a patch of grass and ran over to their friend.

"Harry, Harry!" Morgana brushed Harry's hair out of his eyes, he had fallen into a semi-conscious daze.

"Mogna?" Harry mumbled

"Yeah, yes, it's me," Morgana sighed a sigh of relief and beckoned for Atlas to help her haul Harry's limp form to the shelter of the oak tree that they all loved dearly. They decided it was best if they waited for Daphne and Lucy to arrive before returning to the castle. They sat, Harry's head in Atlas' lap, for a while before they saw the forms of their friends flying towards them.

**The Hospital wing**

Harry lay in the immaculate bed, exhausted, for the thousandth time since he started Hogwarts, surrounded by 5 extremely anxious pupils. Draco and Atlas held Harry's hands and the girls sat in chairs. Harry's emerald eyes slowly opened, darting around to survey his surroundings. He calmed when he saw the faces of his friends and the familiar smile of Poppy Pomfrey. He jumped slightly when the doors of the wing burst open but composed himself when he saw who the man was. James Potter, looking distraught, his hair messy as ever. He turned to Lucy, "I was told my son was injured? Where is he?" Lucy nodded at Harry uneasily, knowing how Harry felt about James. James looked at Harry, "Oh. I thought Oliver was hurt," with that, he calmly walked out of the ward.

"Well, Harry here we are again," Poppy said in a half-stern tone, Harry was a regular of hers. 'I was a frequent visitor to the infirmary', it was what Harry called 'the voice'. He had been hearing the Voice since he was around 6 years old. He had no idea who the Voice was, he was getting closer to the answer every year but there was something there, in his brain, stopping him from discovering. He smiled weakly at the grandmotherly figure he'd come to trust.

**31****st**** October 1988**

_Harry was sat with Charlie Weasley in the library, getting help from the redhead on his Herbology homework. They were on a table with Oliver wood, an excitable 2__nd__ year with an unhealthy obsession with quidditch and Atlas who had kept his friendship with Harry alive when they had started Hogwarts._

"_So mandrakes…" Harry suddenly keeled over, crying in pain._

"_Merlin! Harry, Harry?" Charlie shot up out of his seat and crouched over his small friend, "hey, Falcon, can you hear me?" Charlie's voice was dripping with worry as he used Harry's nickname._

_Atlas, Charlie, Oliver and Nicholas Longbottom, a quiet, kind 1__st__ year with an affinity for Herbology, lifted an unconscious Harry onto a small table, much to the horror of Madam Pince and carried him off to the hospital wing. _

_Harry, it turned out had a badly broken leg. Oliver had pushed him down 3 flights of stairs because he was angry that he was going to Hogwarts. Harry had hidden the injury with a clever glamour charm Lucius had shown him to keep the press attention averted from him when he had to accompany his family somewhere public. He had been bearing the pain, however, since the accident had occurred. His parents were contacted but they were too busy with Oliver's training to come and see him. He had recovered slowly, and with the help of Madam Pomfrey, he was soon fit and healthy again._

Harry visited the hospital many times after the leg incident, usually after the summer holidays and after run-ins with Slytherins. By the end of his 3rd year, students had grown to respect the loyal, quiet, clever and handsome Ravenclaw that was constantly surrounded by his tight knit group of friends. When he entered the Great hall to join in with the feast, he was met with fond smiles from all 4 tables.

Oliver glowered at his brother as he caught the Weasley twins, Katie Bell and even Marcus Flint grinning slightly at Harry's arrival. The buzz around his own arrival had dulled, and though he still had an army of fans, he only had a few real friends. Ron Weasley was his best mate, Dean Thomas wasn't bad, Seamus Finnegan was a legend for exploding this in lessons and Neville Longbottom was just Neville. Neville just being Neville was not good, he was clumsy, chubby and couldn't fly for his life. It was a miracle that Neville had been sorted into Gryffindor, he had been more fortunate than Nicholas, his older brother, who had ended up in _Hufflepuff_ of all places. Oliver snorted at the idiocy of Nicholas and his buck teeth.

Harry noted that his favourite stuttering Professor was missing from the staff table. A man ran into the hall, "Speak of the devil," Harry murmured.

Everyone stared at Quirell as he made it halfway up the aisle and gasped, "Troll — in the dun geons — thought you ought to know." He fainted. He fainted forwards, Harry thought this odd. He also thought it odd that a troll had somehow gotten into the castle by itself.

There was an uproar of screaming, Dumbledore cast a _Sonorus _charm, "Quiet!" this stunned the entire hall into silence, "Prefects," he roared, "take your Houses back to their dormito ries immediately!"

Harry watched as the insufferable prefect Percy Weasley puffed his chest and began barking orders at his housemates, "Ok, follow me, excuse me, prefect coming through, follow me to the common room, come on!" He spotted his brother and Ron disappearing down a corridor opposite from the rest of the Gryffindors, "Idiots," he thought, slipping after them. They were heading to the toilets – the _girl's _bathroom. He heard grunting, snorting and the heavy footsteps of what could only be a troll.

What was the brat thinking? He had used a toy wand when he'd been trained before Hogwarts but that had had restrictions. He couldn't know any really useful spells. Harry shuddered slightly as he caught sight of the creature, 12 ft tall, grey skin and horrible stumpy legs like tree trunks. The smell was putrid, like a million corpses rotting in the hot sun. He tutted at his brother as he and Weasley locked the troll into the bathroom. The troll would be able to open the door with brute force almost immediately. He watched, intrigued as Oliver sprinted back to the door and fumbled with the key. Harry ran in behind them, his athletic legs making light work of it. His face fell as he saw the troll advance on a small girl. Oliver obviously thought he could distract the troll and hurled a sink at the towering creature. The troll viciously swung his club at him.

"Oy, pea-brain!" yelled Ron from the other side of the room. Harry sighed at this, leave it to Ron to make a bigger mess of the situation. He decided to take matters into his own hands, "_Sectumsempra!_" he shouted, surprising the trio. He slashed at the troll, causing its blood to spray everywhere. Eventually the troll fell to the ground with a loud thud!

Luckily for Harry, it was Professor Snape that had arrived on scene first. Harry nodded at the three trembling Gryffindors and Snape removed Harry from their memories of the event. A moment later, Professor McGonagall had come into the room, closely followed by Flitwick. Snape bent over the troll. Professor McGonagall was looking at Ron and Oliver. In all his years of knowing her as 'Auntie Minnie', Oliver had never seen her so furious. Harry stepped into the shadows, deciding to pay Snape a visit later.

**Professor Snape's office, later that evening**

"Come in Harry, come in," Snape welcomed Harry into his office in a warm way that would completely freak out over. Harry stood behind his usual workstation and began crushing scarab beetles for a batch of Skele-Gro for Madam Pomfrey. Harry and Severus had been making potions for Pomfrey together for almost 2 years now, they were a brilliant team.

"Severus, how's your arm," Harry asked with genuine concern over his friend and mentor's wellbeing.

"Its fine," Severus replied, wincing in pain,"

"Honestly, Sev, I know when you're lying. Let me see," Harry carefully rolled up Severus' sleeve, under the black cloth lay a faint grey mark. The Dark Mark. Harry pulled a face, "Sev, you've got to get rid of this,"

"I've told you, there's no way," Severus sighed, smiling sadly at the young boy he'd grown to care for. It was a shame that idiot James Potter couldn't see just how marvelous his oldest son was.

"There's always a way," Harry squeezed Snape's shoulder and walked out of the dungeon, leaving a bowl full of perfectly crushed beetles. He smiled when he remembered the moment on the train to Hogwarts, when he was just 11 years old, when the Voice had said to him, "Severus Snape, a friend of Lily's. Become his friend if you ever get to meet him, he deserves at least one person that cares,"

**A/N Thanks for reading, remember to follow, fave and review! In this fic, Sev isn't as ugly as Rowling describes him as. I've got the plot sorted for the rest of year 1 and year 2 and I'm currently 3 chapters ahead. I'm also pretty sure about pairings, I'll reveal them over the course of the second half of 1st year, 2nd year and 3rd year. I'll give 394 galleons to anybody who can guess who Harry's Voice is :) **

**Vampire out! (TimelordingVampire was my old screename for pretty much everything, and that's how I'd end all my blog posts from back in the day)**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N enjoy this! Sorry for not updating, had a lot of school work and this took the back seat.**

**_HP and TLTNW, Year 1, Chapter 5: The boy who belonged_**

**December 1991**

Christmas was coming, its icy fingers clutching Hogwarts in a choking grasp. One morning in December, Harry woke to find his precious lake completely frozen over and the grounds of the school itself covered in several feet of snow. Everyone was looking forward for the holidays, everyone but Harry. He never went home for Christmas, no matter how many times his friends told him he could stay at theirs. The corridors of the castle grew bitterly cold, wind howled in the owlery and frost formed on the many windows. The dungeons were the worst, they were usually a bit chilly but in winter, oh in winter, they were freezing!

Oliver had been extra obnoxious since his victory in the Gryffindor-Slytherin match sometime in November. Harry hadn't been watching, he was busy wondering why Dumbledore was keeping a Cerberus inside the school. He was sat in the common room, reading an advanced Charms book when Professor Flitwick approached him. The small man was quite fond of the boy and grinned at his choice of literature, "Mr. Potter, can you consider returning home for the holidays this year? I'm sure your parents miss you very much,"

"Thank you Professor, but I'll be staying here at Hogwarts again," Harry smiled and returned to his book. The Professor sighed, having known the boy's answer all along.

Harry especially didn't want to be at the manor this year, Ron would be there. Mr and Mrs Weasley were going to visit Charlie in Romania, leaving their sons with the Potters. Harry liked Fred and George, he often found himself laughing at their jokes. No, it was Ron and Percy he couldn't stand. Ron was disgusting, Percy was a stuck up bigot.

Speaking of Ron, Harry was on his way to a meeting with Snape when he saw the redhead dive onto Draco. Harry grabbed the boy's robe and hauled him up, turning to Draco, "What did you say to him?" he asked

"N-nothing," Draco stuttered

"Really, come on Drake,"

"Okay, I said that Hagrids hut was like a palace compared to his house,"

"Number 1: We may hate him but leave his family out of this. Number 2: Hagrid's hut is his home, Hagrid is my friend," Draco nodded and stalked away to find Theodore. Ron gulped and jumped behind the Christmas tree that Hagrid was carrying.

"I hate them," said Harry, "Weasley and Potter," Harry stated as he shut Snape's door behind him.

"What was that all about?"

"Oh, nothing. So, blood replenishing potion?"

Severus Snape found himself grinning at the antics of his childhood nemesis' eldest son.

0o0o0

Harry and the gang sat at their usual table, writing various essays. Daphne looked over at the table opposite them, where the 'Golden Trio' were sat.

"What're they up to?"

"Seems as though Hagrid let something slip," Harry replied, as if this was the only answer needed. Oliver had never picked up a book willingly, so it must've been something important.

0o0o0

Harry really hated goodbyes. They were too final.

Atlas gave him a 'manly hug' and Draco simply smiled at him. Ana grinned at him, telling him to remember to eat over the holidays. Daphne smirked at him, her way of saying, "Don't do anything I'd do,"

"Look after yourself, ok?" Lucy hugged him as the five left for the station, leaving Harry behind, "You can still come with us, you know that?" Harry nodded, spun on his heels and returned to the castle. He had the common room to himself and he had his own room anyway. Harry played Wizards chess against a few others that had stayed, but that ended as soon as they realized that he was never going to let them win.

On Christmas Eve, Harry went to bed, thinking about what Oliver was doing. Being pampered by their parents? Probably. He didn't expect many presents, a few from his friends, nothing more. He woke early the next morning, as usual, noting the pile of packages at the end of his bed.

"Merry Christmas," Harry whispered sleepily to Hedwig, his owl. The bird nuzzled against him as if to say, "You too," Harry picked up the top parcel. It was wrapped in navy blue paper and scrawled across it was To Harry, from Atlas. Inside was a small broomstick –about the size of a pencil- that began whizzing round Harry's head, making him grin slightly. Inside the package was a note, 'That model snitch changed my life forever, as silly as that sounds, this is just a little something (it took me 5 months to learn how to make this, appreciate it, I don't know why I wrote that, you can't seem to stop saying thanks to my family and I) to show how much I care. –Attie'

A second, very small package contained a note.

_20 seconds after you open this parcel, you will be portkeyed to a very special gathering, hold on tight! – Daph, Lucy and Ana _

Taped to the note was a galleon, Harry assumed that this was the portkey. He inhaled sharply, portkeys reminded him of times he'd rather forget. There was a strange pull at his navel as he felt his world whirl around him, instilling a sickly feeling in the pit of his stomach.

**Malfoy Manor**

"HARRY!" Harry chuckled as 3 girls dove on him, hugging him until he couldn't breathe.

"Merlin, leave the boy alone," came the voice of a smirking Atlas, who was dressed in a white shirt, a Forest green knitted vest, dark jeans and – oddly- a pair of slippers with bunny ears. He was grasping a pewter tankard containing what Harry assumed was butterbeer. Draco was stood behind him in a similar outfit, smiling in a more refined way. Daphne and the girls were dressed in a variety of festive jumpers, Daphne looking very unslytherin in her reindeer and snowflake attire but her cunning nature was evident in the way Harry arrived at the manor –he was sure it was her idea. He found that he was wearing a navy blue vest and black skinny jeans, accompanied by an unfamiliar white shirt that had the Malfoy insignia printed on the cuffs.

Harry was welcomed by the Malfoys and ushered through to the dining room, where a table teeming with delicious food lay. Around the table sat Blaise Zabini, Ms Zabini, Astoria (Daphne's younger sister), Lord and Lady Greengrass, Bethany Archer and Mr and Mrs Archer. Contrary to popular belief, Lucius and Narcissa had no problem with muggles, neither did their children.

Harry ate with the Malfoys often, yet the food never failed to amaze him. Roast turkeys, roast potatoes, plates full of juicy sausages and ornate boats of rich gravy. Accompanying the meal were wizarding crackers, Harry loved these. When Harry was younger his primary school would also have crackers at their end of term Christmas lunch, but those were lumps of coal compared to wizarding crackers. He pulled one with Draco, jumping at the green smoke that burst out of it, revealing a sailor's hat and a set of animated toy boats. Harry could picture the old coot, wearing his bonnet, laughing merrily at a joke, just like every Christmas Harry had had at Hogwarts.

Flaming Christmas puddings followed the turkey. Blaise nearly set fire to his hair when he leaned in too close to watch the dessert being lit, his dark brown locks were rendered slightly crisp by the lively flames. Harry watched Lucius and Cyril Greengrass chuckling and sipping wine –rather a lot of wine, Harry noted.

After the lavish meal, Atlas declared a snow ball fight and raced into the main garden of the manor. It was Harry, Atlas, Draco and Blaise versus Daphne, Ana, Lucy and Bethany. Maria and Narcissa had deemed their husbands too intoxicated and sent them to the drawing room to calm down a little bit.

Lucy pelted a couple of snowballs, hitting Atlas square on the nose, making him smirk. Lucy was just beginning to wonder why he was smirking when he hurled five at the girls, hitting them all. Daphne, a bit irritated by being successfully hit by Atlas, gathered some snow and cast a charm on them. Blaise found himself flat on his face in a couple of seconds. Harry was crouched quietly behind boys' defences, casting a difficult invisibility charm that someone, Harry couldn't quite remember who, had taught him long ago. He stood up, waved his hand in front of Atlas' face. Atlas didn't even blink, Harry grinned, and this meant he was invisible. He slowly crept over to the girl's side, a scooping up snow with his hands. Thankfully, for him anyway, the teenagers where too caught up in the fight and didn't notice footsteps in the snow.

After the fight, the teens piled back into the manor with a rosy tint in their cheeks. They rounded the corner into the informal parlour and where faced with Cyril and Lucius dressed in smart suits. Harry sent Atlas a questioning look, to which Atlas returned an expression of exaggerated bewilderment. Lucius grinned, "Ah, children! Just in time for us to prepare you for the ball," The children looked at each other as if the others knew the answer to the silent question. Sighing, Harry asked it aloud,

"What ball?"

"The annual Malfoy yule ball of course,"

"Annual? How come I don't remember this ever happening before?" Atlas piped up

"The Wizarding world has only just become truly stable, we couldn't hold one before because- " Lucius' face paled at the thought of the 3 years he spent in Azkaban.

Cyril frowned at his close friend's turmoil and continued where Lucius had left off, "What Lu's trying to say is that we can hold it this year and you're all invited!"

Maria and Narcissa appeared and wheeled the older girls away, ignoring Bethany and Astoria's protests. The 2 younger girls, Draco and Blaise were deemed too young to attend.

Harry's outfit (apparently designed especially for him) consisted of a white dress shirt, black trousers, a forest green tie, a suit jacket and a green pocket handkerchief that was folded into an apparently geometrically perfect triangle. Atlas' was identical but was in a shade of navy blue.

Harry and Atlas were lead to a pair of ornate white, wooden doors that were decorated with golden detailing. Harry slowly turned the brass door knob and swung the door open to reveal a magnificent ballroom. There were several large tables decorated with wreaths and fine china. There was a grand chandelier hanging from the ceiling, light glinting in the finely cut glass. There were ice sculptors and fountains that you could drink champagne from. In the middle of it all was a dance floor. Harry had been taught to dance by the girls on a lazy summer afternoon in their 2nd year for a laugh. Not that the thought of dancing wasn't daunting, the Malfoys were very well connected. There was sure to be a fairly large audience watching.

As predicted, the room began to fill with influential families and their offspring. Harry and Atlas were introduced to the Hartcourts, the Smythes, the Pinewoods and the Clements. They found pleasant enough conversation with Evan Hartcourt, Horatio Clements and Julian Pinewood, the eldest sons of their respective families. They were in the middle of a discussion about Quidditch positions when Jules (as they were instructed to call Julian) choked on his selected hors d'oeuvre. He recovered by gulping down a glass of peach and strawberry punch in a most unaristocratic way and nodded towards the doors.

The three girls were stood at the entrance in their outfits. Ana in a short burgundy dress, Lucy in a periwinkle gown and Daphne in a pine green dress that seemed to flow on for miles. Atlas and Harry's eyes widened. Atlas walked over to Lucy, offering her his arm, which she accepted, blushing. Evan rose to claim Ana and Harry found himself face to face with a smiling Daphne. He found himself staring at her cascading brown hair and mesmerizing green eyes, "Care to dance, Harry?"

After the first few dances, the atmosphere was much more relaxed. Harry was surprised to see Neville and his brother Nicholas in the crowd. He approached them, bringing them each a glass of punch. Nicholas thanked him for the drink, "Surprise to see you here, Harry,"

"Even more to see you, Nicholas,"

"Hello Harry," Neville greeted quietly

"Well, it was either this or the Potter's egofest," Nicholas chuckled

"I see why you chose this!" Harry replied, "Nicholas, Nick, I never said thanks properly,"

"Thanks for what?"

"That time in the library when you carried me to the hospital wing, true bravery and loyalty. You really are a Hufflepuff, and never be ashamed of being a 'Puff, ok?"

"Urm..no problem," Nick replied, his cheeks turning red

0o0o0

After what seemed like hours of dancing and laughing together, the adults decided it was time Harry returned to Hogwarts to avoid raising suspicion.

Harry hugged the girls, saluted the boys, heartily shook hands with Lucius and received affectionate pats on the back from the mothers. He returned to his room by floo, a mode of transport he was yet to master. He set the gifts from the girls and the Malfoys carefully down on his desk, smiling at the set of muggle artist's pencils from Lucy, the broom care kit from Daph, the temporary appearance changing lotion from Ana and the new robes from Lucius and Narcissa that were tastefully trimmed in a selection of colours including navy blue.

He turned to change into his pyjamas when he noticed one more parcel sitting on his bed. It was wrapped in dark green paper and, when Harry picked it up, felt like a book. He carefully unwrapped it, peeling back the paper with trepidation. He held the object in front of him, it was indeed a book. A tattered, faded, old-looking book at that. He read the title out loud, "Advanced Potion Making," Harry frowned slightly, this book was part of the N.E.W.T syllabus. He turned the cover, revealing an inscription that read 'this book is the property of the half-blood prince'. A scrap of paper fell from the wrapping paper as Harry searched for a clue as to who had sent him the gift. On the paper, in a familiar scrawl, a small note was written:

_This book has helped me greatly over my lifetime. I believe it will help you accomplish more that I could ever dream of. Merry Christmas, Harry. Use it well._

_H.B.P_

Harry blinked, H.B.P obviously stood for 'half-blood prince'. He decided it could wait till morning, it had been the best Christmas he'd had in years. It wouldn't do to spoil it in the pursuit of adventure. Adventure always lead to trouble, Harry had discovered. He drifted off to sleep, smiling at how fortunate he was to have such good friends.

Screams, a scrabble for the pot of floo powder only to discover it to be empty, desperate pleas, cruel laughter and flashes of harsh green light. Harry awoke, panting heavily, fresh from the horrors of his recurring nightmare. He swung himself out of bed, "Just the right time for a midnight stroll," He thought to himself somewhat bitterly. He whispered, "_Caecitis,_" rendering himself invisible as he slipped out of the common room and up one of the many flights of stairs. Adrenaline suddenly rushed through him as he found himself tiptoeing around the deserted corridors of Hogwarts.

Suddenly he heard the familiar footsteps of Filch, out on his nightly patrol. He ducked behind a nearby suit of armour and waited. He hid in the shadows as Filch's hunchbacked form shuffled past, sighing silently as the aged caretaker disappeared from sight. A shiver ran up Harry's spine as he realised that Filch was blocking his was back to the tower. He backed away from his hiding spot and into what he assumed was an empty classroom. It did look like an unused classroom, stacks of desks pushed up against the wall. Right in the middle of the room was a tall shape, unlike a chair or desk. It was an ornate mirror, nearly as high as the ceiling. As Harry drew nearer he could just make out a phrase carved delicately into the gold frame. _Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi. _For the second time that evening, Harry's face was one of intrigue. His Ravenclaw tendencies soon prevailed and he began to inspect the phrase as if it was a riddle that granted entrance to the common room.

He began crossing off possibilities: code (no, magic was too literal for that), anagram (again, it would confuse the intent behind the magic) and backwards writing. His last option made sense…mirror writing…on a magical mirror. Harry had to admit that wizards had a great sense of humour. So mirror writing, Erised was…desire! I show not your face but your heart's desire?

He glanced cautiously back at the door then peered into the mirror. His breath hitched, in the mirror stood not only his reflection but other people too. James Potter, his _father, _had his arm draped around his shoulders and was teaching him a spell of some kind. He shivered, subconsciously tracing the scar on his shoulder that remained from the time James had found him pretending a stick was a wand and had punished him by hitting him with the aforementioned stick. He turned around, expecting James to be there, hatred clouding his face, preparing to punish him. But the room was empty. He turned back to the mirror, attempting to calm his breathing. Another figure entered the scene, a woman with fiery red hair and kind emerald eyes. Lily. Lily Potter. His mother. She began laughing cheerfully and hugging Harry and— no! It was too much for him. He ran back to the tower and collapsed on his bed. He glanced at the stack of presents on his bed and calmed himself, he had his friends, and he didn't need his family. As he lay in bed, attempting to go to sleep, the Voice whispered the same mysterious phrase to him that he uttered every year, "Merry Christmas Harry, one day you'll find somewhere you belong," Harry drifted off, and for the first time, after all the years the Voice had been with him, Harry James Potter felt like he belonged.


End file.
